February 6th, 2007
MSNBC: “Flaws In Firefighters Last Line of Defense”
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16890732/
In this article, author Bill Dedman explores the shortcomings of the U.S. Government in investigating failures of the Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices that firefighters across the country wear.
The PASS devices are set up to emit a shrieking alarm if the user does not move for 30 seconds. Some other models also are designed to activate the alarm if the temperature reaches a certain point. These measures are designed to alert other firefighters that one of their brothers/sisters may be hurt or exposed to dangerous (more so than usual) conditions. And the article indicates that these last-line-of-defense systems fail quite often.
Tests by federal and independent labs show that some PASS alarms can fail to perform as intended if they get too hot or wet — a serious problem for people who rush into burning buildings with water hoses. And federal investigative reports reviewed by MSNBC.com show that 15 firefighters have died since 1998 in fires where a PASS, or Personal Alert Safety System, either didn’t sound or was so quiet that rescuers weren’t given a chance to find the firefighter quickly.
In addition to the concerns noted, I should note that I believe there is also one other fatal flaw in the design of these devices: they are designed to only sound at very high pitches.
As deaf and hard of hearing people know, hearing losses are often greater at higher or lower frequencies. For example, my own hearing loss is centered around the higher frequencies which means I can’t even hear the PASS alarms, even if I’m standing right next to it.
I also know I’m not the only one who has this situation. Fire trucks, for years, used to place their sirens and airhorns atop the cab of the truck, effectively turning into giant bells. As a result, firefighters across the country have suffered significant hearing damage. Newer trucks such as my department’s Ladder truck have the sirens/horns mounted on the front bumper of the apparatus (you can see the holes for the horn and the old-fashioned siren on right-hand side):
How do we resolve this problem? The National Fire Protection Agency has to mandate that PASS alarms should encompass a greater range of pitches from low to high at a sustained decibel level. Additionally, they should also vibrate any time the alarm is activated. Vibrations are simply another tool to help searchers.
February 28th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
[...] I emailed my previous blog entry to the reporter of MSNBC’s coverage of PASS alarm shortcomings. Bill Dedman was very receptive and has kept me updated on the progress of the series. [...]